Gazuga's definitions

Star Fox

A Super Nintendo game released in 1993 and developed by Argonaut that was one of the first games to feature the SuperFX chip, a math coprocessor installed in the game cartridge that allowed for primitive 3D graphics. The game spawned a lackluster N64 sequel, as well as becoming something of a game icon to furries everywhere.

I must have spent hours playing the original Star Fox as a kid.

by Gazuga April 10, 2004

SSE

Streaming SIMD Extensions. A set of instructions that Intel introduced with the Pentium III that allow one instruction to operate on multiple pieces of data.

I made my program run with SSE! w00t!

by Gazuga April 10, 2004

Deus Ex Machina

Literally "God from the machine", Deus Ex Machina originally referred to Greek plays, where the "gods" would be lowered onto the stage in order to provide a quick resolution to the story. Today, Deus Ex Machina refers to any improbably and/or overly convenient character or mechanism that comes out of nowhere saves the character(s) from their doom.

For a hilarious send-up of Deus Ex Machina, check out the spaceship scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian.

by Gazuga April 26, 2004

DirectX

An Application Programming Interface (API) developed by Microsoft to allow programmers to access various hardware, most often the graphics card and sound card. Despite being produced by Microsoft, DirectX isn't actually all that bad, if you can get past Microsoft's abominable coding style.

Learning DirectX is hard, and Microsoft's unintelligible code doesn't make it any easier.

by Gazuga May 16, 2004

God works in mysterious ways

An ad hoc hypothesis thrown up by Christians when confronted with intractable contradiction in their absurd belief system. It is nothing more than a veiled confession of ignorance from someone who will say anything rather than question or confront their beliefs. When arguing with a believer, hearing this usually means you've won the debate.

"How can an all-loving god condemn so many people to eternal torment in hell?"
"Simple, god gave us a choice to either accept him or reject him."
"But if God cares so much about us, then why does he need to coerce our devotion with the threat of torture? So why doesn't God reveal himself and warn us about it? Why doesn't he set the non-believers straight? Is our having faith so important to him that he's willing to let millions of people be condemned?"
"Uh...God works in mysterious ways!"

by Gazuga April 10, 2004

openGL

A graphical API produced by Silicon Graphics that is platform independent, unlike Direct3D. It is also much easier to program 3D applications with, do to the absence of Microsoft Code.

If one wants to learn 3D programming, they should learn OpenGL.

by Gazuga May 16, 2004

Microsoft Code

The worst, buugiest, most indecipherable code you will ever come across. Upon encountering Microsoft Code, a programmer should run, not walk, in the opposite direction.

If it's written in Hungarian Notation, uses way too many pointers, and is incomprehensible, chances are you're dealing with Microsoft Code.

by Gazuga May 16, 2004